The right foods, drinks, and moves (some of them while you're sitting on the sofa) can get your numbers to normal in just three months

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Women with heart disease come in all ages, races, shapes, and sizes. But there's one common factor in 69 percent of people hit with a first heart attack and 77 percent of those who have a stroke: high blood pressure.

Hypertension is the stealth player in heart disease, silently overstretching and damaging the walls of arteries in the heart and those supplying the brain (not to mention the eyes and kidneys). That's why it's critical to take action if your pressure starts to go up — something that will happen to millions of us eventually. One in three adults has hypertension, defined as a reading of 140/90. But since heart disease risk starts creeping up at much lower levels, doctors now begin to worry if pressure is between 120/80 and 139/89, a range called prehypertension. "In the old days, doctors said it was normal for blood pressure to go up with age. Now we know it isn't, and needs to be addressed," says cardiologist Jennifer H. Mieres, M.D., spokesperson for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women.

"Addressing" it doesn't automatically mean drugs. More and more evidence shows that relatively simple changes in lifestyle can have a big impact on your blood pressure — in many cases, just as big as popping a pill. The most valuable DIY move: watching the scale. When Harvard researchers tracked the health habits of 80,000 women, weight control emerged as the undisputed champ for reducing the risk of hypertension. Maintaining a body mass index under 25 (the line between normal and overweight) cut the chance 40 percent, the researchers found. But even small changes help. For a woman who's overweight, dropping just 10 to 20 pounds could make the difference between needing blood pressure meds and not needing them.

Weight control is only the beginning. If your situation isn't urgent, try these other lifestyle strategies, too, to lower your readings. And if your pressure is healthy, the same moves can help keep it that way.

Low-Pressure Cooking

1. Run toward DASH
Though tough for some people to follow, it's the tried-and-true blood pressure plan. DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) emphasizes salt reduction, reduced fat intake, switching to whole grains, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables (eight to 10 servings a day) and low-fat or nonfat dairy products (two to three servings a day). In a Johns Hopkins study last year of people with blood pressure in the range of 120 — 159/80 — 95, just eight weeks on DASH lowered systolic BP (the top number) by six points. For more info, go to goodhousekeeping.com/dash.

2. Add Power Plants
In the same study, people who simply bumped up their fruit and vegetable intake without following the full program also lowered their BP, though not as much as the did-it-all group. Shop for foods that are high in magnesium and in potassium, which lowers BP by blunting the effects of sodium. Good sources of potassium include bananas, oranges, and potatoes, as well as clams and yogurt. Magnesium abounds in green vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and beans. And consume these rich-in-both-minerals powerhouses: spinach and soybeans.

3. Shake Your Salt Habit

The DASH diet calls for two to three servings of dairy a day. But if you're not a fan, a plant-heavy, low-sodium, high-potassium and -magnesium diet without the dairy can lower blood pressure just as much, recent research has found. "The main effects on blood pressure came from reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium," says senior author Caryl Nowson, Ph.D., of Deakin University in Australia. Her suggestions: Try to avoid processed foods, which tend to be highly salted, or, if you do buy them, compare nutrition labels closely and choose the lowest-sodium brands.

4. Go With the Whole Grain

When middle-aged people with blood pressures mostly on the upper end of normal swapped refined grains for whole grains or oats for three servings a day, they had an impressive five- to six-point drop in systolic pressure, a Scottish study reported. That's enough to lower heart attack risk 15 percent and stroke risk 25 percent. "We were surprised such small, easy changes had such a profound impact," notes senior author Frank Thies, Ph.D., of the University of Aberdeen.

5. Savor Dark Chocolate

It contains flavanols, plant chemicals that seem to lower blood pressure by dilating arteries. In a new analysis of 15 studies that compared eating cocoa-rich products with nibbling on other treats (such as cocoa-free white chocolate), the real thing lowered systolic pressure 3.2 points and diastolic, 2. To stay low via this treat, enjoy up to one ounce a day of chocolate with a high (70 percent) cocoa content.

6. Get some Zing
For most people, drinking coffee or tea in moderation doesn't seem to be either good or bad for blood pressure. (Just don't measure your BP for 30 to 45 minutes after drinking it, because caffeine may cause a temporary spike.) But sip herbal tea with hibiscus — the major ingredient in the Zinger line from Celestial Seasonings and a few other brands — and you could lower systolic pressure as much as 7.2 points, a study from the Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University found. The herb acts like certain meds (ACE inhibitors) to open blood vessels, explains lead researcher Diane McKay, Ph.D. Her formula: Steep three tea bags in three cups of water for five minutes, then enjoy throughout the day, hot or iced.

The Right Moves

7. Push Your Pulse

Whether you walk, jog, bike, or swim, any activity that gets your heart and breathing rate up will lower your blood pressure. The American Heart Association suggests at least 150 minutes a week (30 minutes a day on most or all days) of moderate physical activity. "For blood pressure in particular, you don't need to do it all at once to get benefits. It can be done in 10-minute increments," says Linda Pescatello, Ph.D., of the University of Connecticut.

8. Resist and Reduce

Since it's not aerobic, most doctors don't emphasize weight training as a way to lower blood pressure. But they should: In one study, four weeks of resistance training reduced BP as much as aerobic exercise. How it works: Resistance exercise increases blood flow, which stretches vessel walls, leading to release of a compound that makes the vessels more elastic, explains lead author Scott Collier, Ph.D., of Appalachian State University. To start, include weight training in your routine twice a week. If a weight or machine setting fatigues you after 10 lifts, use a weight that's about one-third lighter or dial the setting back a third. Your goal is to do three sets of 10 reps at about two-thirds of the maximum weight you can lift. And keep breathing while you push, pull, and lift: Holding your breath is a sure way to increase pressure.

9. Get a Grip

Ten minutes of simple hand-squeezing lowers BP 10 points systolic, 7 diastolic — about as much as a standard antihypertensive pill — a recent review of several studies found. To try it, take a tennis ball (or a hand grip) and squeeze with either hand for two minutes, then relax for a minute or so; repeat three times with the same hand. Do it three times a week, and check for results in about five weeks. Just be sure to keep up the routine: In the studies, pressures crept back up two to three weeks after people stopped, reports cardiologist Andrew Owen, M.D., of Canterbury Christ Church University in Britain.

Mind/Body Connections

10. Schedule Regular Cushion Time

Tension causes stress hormone levels to go up, which in turns raises pressure. By practicing meditation, you can lower those levels, reducing heart rate and BP. Choose whatever technique you like — for a primer, you might consult the classic Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson, M.D. — and stay with it. Studies show regular meditation works significantly better than muscle-relaxing exercises.

11. Strike a Pose

In one recent 12-week study, yoga reduced BP in people with prehypertension as much as did individualized diet guidance and support. "Look for a class that includes meditation and breathing components along with the poses," advises Debbie Cohen, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania. Similarly, tai chi, a nonimpact series of slow movements, has also been shown to drop pressure.

12. Say No to the Negative

Easing your tension is helpful, but even better, try to minimize the sources of stress in your life, whether it's a traffic-clogged commute (can you shift your work schedule?) or overloaded weekends. The worst BP-raising combination for women: work strain and an unsupportive spouse, research has shown. So think about ways you might be able to smooth the bumps in the office and at home, or consider counseling if you're stuck. Lowering pressure in all ways can lead to a healthier life — and to a happier one as well.

Chart Before You Start

Some people's BP spikes at the doctor's office, while for others, it peaks at different times during the day or simply stays high. To avoid drugs, you need to prove to your doctor that your out-of-office pressures are low enough for you to safely try other strategies first. "If your weekly average is less than 130/80, and your pressure hasn't led to other health problems, you may be able to delay drugs to see if lifestyle changes will work," says William B. White, M.D., president-elect of the American Society of Hypertension.

Buy an automated machine that's validated as accurate (go to dableducational.org for ratings). Check your BP twice a day for at least one week: first thing in the morning, and then later at work or just after getting home. Take two readings, about two to five minutes apart, at each sitting. After a week, an average of all your readings should be close to the daytime average that you'd get on a 24-hour recording device.